Books & CO
Family history books with Helen Tovey & Rachel Bellerby
WHERE WILL YOUR READING TAKE YOU?
Centuries will not Suffice: a history of the Lithuanian holocaust
by Prit Buttar
Most of us are, sadly, only too familiar with the Jewish holocaust but perhaps less aware of the fact that well before the creation of the death camps in which millions of people met their end, the Nazi regime’s killing machine was already underway in Lithuania. In Centuries will not Suffice, author Prit Buttar takes a respectful and sensitive look at this aspect of the holocaust, looking at the atrocities from the perspective of both the victims and perpetrators.
Of course, the narrative is at times, extremely difficult to read and to take in; human behaviour at its very lowest point. Thankfully, there is a glimmer of humanity through the author’s portrayal of the heroic actions of a number of individuals who took brave and drastic action to save those at risk from death. The final chapter on remembrance and motivation puts everything into context and really does provide a sobering reflection of this terrible aspect of the Second World War.
• Published by Amberley Publishing at £25 (hardback), ISBN 9781398115156. RB
Less Dreadful With Every Step
by Clive Wooliscroft
Set in Jarrow and the battlefields of France at the start of the Great War this is a fictional account of the fates of two young Tynesiders from the same shipbuilding town whose fates will become entwined by the coming war. Both Frank and Emily live happy but unremarkable lives when we first meet them. But before long, they will be pitched into the theatre of war; Emily as a Voluntary Aid Detachment worker and Frank as a soldier.
The author deals well with the dual locations and lead characters and I had no trouble following this double storyline. The tale is fast-paced and absorbing and it’s particularly interesting to read a fictionalised account of World War I as seen through the eyes of a female VAD recruit.
• Published by Troubador Publishing at £9.99 (paperback), ISBN 9781915603678; ebook £4.99, ASIN B0C69KY748. RB
Bonaparte & Brimstone: a life of mixed fortunes in the Royal Navy and Merchant Service
by Simon Francis Brown
This biography of little-known Georgian mariner John Monk is an engaging look at what life was like in the Royal Navy and on merchant ships in the 19th century. Author Simon Francis Brown has used a variety of source material to build up a picture of John Monk’s maritime adventures, including letters, em
